Spanish justice has lost Dutchman Karim B., suspected of drug trafficking

NOS News•yesterday, 4:29 PM

The suspected criminal leader Karim B. has disappeared after his conditional release. Spanish Justice Minister Bolanos confirmed this. He calls the news extremely worrying. The security services must arrest B. as soon as possible and bring him to justice, he said at a press conference today.

Amsterdam resident Karim B. is considered a major player on the international drug market by both the authorities in Spain and the Netherlands. The 46-year-old suspect was arrested in southern Spain in January after a major police operation against money laundering.

Because he is also wanted in the Netherlands for drug trafficking, the Public Prosecution Service immediately requested his extradition. Yet Karim B. was unexpectedly released in February.

According to the Spanish newspaper El País, Karim B. was released after poor cooperation between two different courts. The newspaper speaks of a “judicial fiasco”.

The Dutch extradition request was before the national court and the Spanish case against Karim B. before a provincial court. Based on police and judicial sources, the newspaper concludes that something went wrong there.

Karim B. was allowed to leave again after paying 50,000 euros bail, handing in his passport and the condition that he would report twice a month. He wouldn’t have done that again the last time.

The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands says it has not been informed that Karim B. has disappeared and does not wish to comment further.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, the judge in Spain had determined that he would immediately be detained again for the Dutch case if he was released in his Spanish case. “We do not know why this did not happen,” a spokesperson said.

The Public Prosecution Service emphasizes that it still plans to prosecute Karim B. here for drug trafficking. A decision from Spain on his extradition is still awaited.

“Our experience with the Spanish justice system is that cooperation is generally good,” the spokesperson said. “Dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”

During the police action against the group around Karim B., the Spanish police seized a large number of houses, worth 50 million euros. 3 million euros have also been confiscated from various bank accounts.

The alleged criminal leader previously lived in Amsterdam, but has been abroad for a long time. His brother Samir was shot dead near Malaga in 2014.

The Spanish police shared these images of a series of arrests in January, in which Karim B. was also arrested:

Spanish police share images of arrests